Fresh Install but lost Outlook express. HELP!!!

I reinstalled windows 7 on my dads sony vaio e series laptop.. And I didnt even realize he used outlook express but I guess he does.. And after the fresh install it wasnt installed with windows 7. I was wondering how I would go bout downloading outlook express and not having to pay? Not trying to get a pirated version im just saying the outlook that came with my dads laptop was free and I was wondering how I could get it back on the comp.

 

Windows 7 has never had Outlook Express, it was for XP only. You are getting confused with Microsoft Outlook, part of the Office suite, and which may have been on the machine originally as a time limited trial, along with Word and Excel. If your father paid for the full version he will have been supplied with a licence key which you need to find, along with the installation media.

 

Microsoft make Windows Live Mail available for free for Win 7. That should meet the need, it's a nice email program.

 

Outlook Express has not existed for over five years now.

 

Well, it still exists in Windows XP and can still be used by Windows XP users. Years ago, it was updated simultaneously with Internet Explorer. For example, when IE 4 was updated to IE 5, OE was also updated from version 4 to 5. The last such simultaneously updating ended with IE/OE 6. Since then, IE was updated but not OE. But, again, OE still exists in Win XP and earlier versions of Windows and it still works as an email client.

 

usafveteran, we are talking about Win7. OE started to be phased out with Vista actually. When XP came out, you could tell that MS started to backshelf it, due to not wanting to place much effort in updating.

This is why most of us push users to use Thunderbird, or even Zimbra Desktop, for their email, if they do not want to pay for Outlook 2kx.

 

Yep, I know all that. I never alluded in any way that OE was ever part of Win 7. And, having used Vista for over 5 years on my Compaq laptop, I'm well aware OE was not part of Vista. Vista came with Windows Mail. Win 7 came with no email client but Win 7 users could get the free Windows Live Mail email client from Microsoft; I've been using Windows Live Mail for several years with Win 7.

I also clearly explained the back-shelving of OE by explaining the history of OE being bundled with IE and that being discontinued after IE 6.

 

As earthling has explained Outlook Express went away with Vista and has not reappeared with Windows 7. Therefore, your dad will likely have to use another email client such as Thunderbird, Windows Live Mail which are free and work very well. One issue I can see is if your dad downloaded his email to his machine, then possibly all of that email could be lost because it is contained in an Outlook Express .DBX file. Although, I would suspect that your dad used Outlook express to read email and left copies on the server, which a new email client would be able to see.

 

More likely, copies of messages were not left on the server. That is not normally a default setting; the user has to open Account Properties in OE and select the setting. So, I suspect that option was not selected, meaning messages were not stored on the server. In other words, they were deleted from the server once downloaded to OE.

 

Yes, Outlook Express 6 is gone but there is a nice replacement under active development - OE Classic - http://www.oeclassic.com/ - It exists in free and paid version and is probably the best choice for those that want Outlook Express look-alike. Unlike Outlook Express which uses Internet Explorer 6 (MSHTML) to display content regardless of what version you have installed (XP supports up to version 8) OE Classic uses latest version of Internet Explorer to display emails (up to IE 10 on Windows 7 and 8).

On Windows Vista Outlook Express has been replaced with "Windows Mail" and on Windows 7 it has been replaced with "Windows Live Mail" (offered as download as part of Windows Live Essentials package). Microsoft Outlook is completely different product and part of the Microsoft flagship software Office.

So now you have a choice what to try out and where to go next.

 

I installed OEClassic recently. The individuals running the program are fantastic and helpful. The program is not yet completed and they are continually adding functions that will end up making it comparable to Outlook Express. Currently one has to perform some tasks outside the box ( like using the SEND key by subsequently hitting SEND & RECEIVE to get the mail to go out ). Also, it will not yet set up as an e-mail client in Windows 7,
so you have to do some workarounds. As they upgrade, all will be fixed and stable. I am using the free version to date but will start the PAY version as soon as the whole program functions as intended. The gentleman who responds to my contacts for help is just the best. That's more than one can say of many vendors. So, whereas I understand I can use Windows LIVE mail, I am sticking with OEClassic. Of course, many folks would like a finished product, but I have fun trying to work around the current minor deficiencies. Thanks.